The line of eighth notes played by the cello under the first movement's main theme showed how clear and quick the M2B sounded in the critical registers of the upper bass and lower midrange: Pitches were precise, and the rhythm was bouncy and correct-yet each note had substance, color, and a fine, believable sustain and die-away. It was also interesting how the M2B-which, if it departed at all from tonal neutrality, would have to be described as just a wee bit dark overall-simply and easily exuded details of the music making. Surely the sound was imperfect, as reproduction always is just as surely, it would be difficult to imagine a more convincing and affecting performance short of a concert setting. The Septet was simply played, as if live. Pitches and pitch relationships in the Beethoven were superb, and the timing was equally so-but it sounded as if it was the musicians who controlled the performance, not the playback gear: There were no restrictions of any sort, nor did an unnatural or exaggerated sense of order or pacing seem to be forced on the music. If this were a review of a new car, it would be like heading for the test track and finding myself at the state line instead. I've never heard that record sound less than fine, but with the new Audio Note M2B in my system, the music tumbled out hypnotically, from the first bar to the last: It was impossible to resist hearing the whole thing in one listen. Listen, for instance, to the nice recording of the Beethoven Septet in E-flat Major, Op.20, that Decca made in 1959 with members of the Vienna Octet, and which King Records/Cisco Music offered in a good vinyl reissue a few years back (KIJC 9111). But, as I heard it, it's not that huge a gap. I don't think anyone who's recently bought an M3 is going to bang their heads and curse themselves for not buying the cheaper preamp and just spending the rest on records or dope: The M3 still sounds even bigger, easier, and more organic than the M2B. (I'm well organized in some areas, disturbingly helpless in others.) Thus I can say, with hand on heart: The new, $4400 M2B is closer in sound to the $7500 M3 than to the $1250 M1. I was even able to find my old review notes from when I had the original M1 and M2 in for review at Listener magazine. Also, thanks to a loan from Peter Qvortrup, I still had an M3 sample on hand during the first couple of weeks of the M2B review period. In any event, my listening impressions of the M2 Balanced are distilled from my experiences with it in two quite different contexts.
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